Get Louisiana Last Will And Testament - Testator Illiterate - Widow, No Children

Under Louisiana's current laws, there are two forms of valid wills: the olographic testament (i.e., holographic testament in other states) and notarial testament. For either of these wills to be accurate, they must be made by the testator and meet the following criteria: Meet the legal requirements of Louisiana.

Not all Louisiana wills need to be witnessed by a notary public. Louisiana law allows testators (people creating wills) to choose between creating a notarial will that is signed before a notary and two witnesses and an olographic will that is handwritten.

ANSWER: Louisiana law does not require that the will be filed with the clerk of court while the person who executed the will still lives. However, some people choose to do so and record it with the clerk of court in their parish of residence.

For notarial Wills, Louisiana law requires that each page of the Last Will and Testament must be signed by the testator and that a valid attestation clause appear at the end of the Last Will and Testament and that it be properly executed before a notary and two witnesses.

To satisfy legal requirements in Louisiana, a will must be signed by two (2) witnesses who have attested the testator's signature. In addition, a will must be notarized by a state-authorized individual and registered with the Secretary of State's Office.

Forgery of Signature on Last Will and Testament Forgery of the decedent's signature is also a ground for invalidating a testament. Clearly, in order for a Last Will and Testament to be valid, it must be signed by the decedent.

In addition to the last will and testament as described above, Louisiana also recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills (called “holographic” in most other states) as valid legal documents so long as the entire document is in the testator's handwriting and is signed and dated by the testator.

Louisiana law specifically allows someone to draft their own will; this type of will is called an olographic will. To be valid, an olographic will must be entirely written, signed and dated in the testator's handwriting.